X-Ray Spex

X-Ray Spex formed in London in 1976, Poly Styrene (Marianne Joan Elliott-Said), Jak Airport, Paul Dean, Paul 'BP' Hurding, and Lora Logic developing a sound rooted in punk rock that was immediately original and unlike anything else in British music. Styrene's vocals were extraordinary — a shrieking, expressive instrument that combined punk ferocity with a melodic directness — and the band's use of saxophone gave them a distinctive sound within the punk genre.

'Germfree Adolescents' (1978) was one of the most important and original British punk albums ever made — a record of extraordinary energy and social commentary that produced 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!', 'The Day the World Turned Day-Glo', and 'Identity'. Styrene's lyrics addressed consumerism, identity, and the dehumanising effects of modern life with a directness and intelligence that was genuinely radical within the punk genre.

X-Ray Spex dissolved in 1979 before various reformations. Poly Styrene died in 2011. They are remembered as one of the most important and distinctive acts of the late-1970s British punk scene — a band whose combination of feminist energy, saxophone-driven sound, and Styrene's extraordinary vocals produced music of lasting importance and genuine radicalism.